By Kayla Landers, May 5, 2026
With finals week approaching and students pushing to get the best grades they can, Cal Poly Pomona students can look to the Learning Resource Center for tutoring help.
Giselle Santamaria, a member of the LRC staff, said there is no need for students to stress about availability during finals, as the LRC has made ample preparations in advance. Located on the second floor of the university library, the LRC offers students multiple customizable tutoring options depending on their preferences and needs.
“It stays kind of the same,” said Santamaria. “I feel like finals week is usually pretty slow compared to the weeks before, but we do make sure to have a lot of tutors ready and prepared.”
Andy Zhang, a computer engineering student who also tutors for the Mathematics and Statistics Help Center, said having plenty of tutoring available during high-stress times in the semester is important because students have a lot of material to cram in before finals.
Santamaria said one of the services that gets extra busy during finals week is the virtual Canvas essay submissions, where students can have their essays checked by tutors. The center has more individuals on hand this time of year to help students earn their best possible grades.
Students can virtually receive feedback on their written assignments by submitting their work to LRC Online Tutoring on their Canvas dashboard. More detailed information for submissions can be found in their presentation detailing the submission process for writing assignments for online tutoring.
Santamaria said there is also subject tutoring, which is categorized by course. Although it can vary each semester depending on the tutors who apply, a wide variety of individuals are still available to help students succeed.
“Our mission is to get students as much help as they need, whether that’s in some of our subject tutoring courses, which are mainly STEM courses, or whether that’s writing help,” Santamaria said.
On the other side of the LRC, the Writing Center focuses primarily on helping students with grammar, proofreading and general assistance with written assignments.
These tutoring services are accessible and affordable for all students.
“It’s a free service,” Santamaria said. “You can access it through our website, which is at CPP Connect. You can make your own appointments, or if you want to call in, then we can schedule them for students.”
Zhang said finding tutoring help at CPP is easy. In his experience, professors make students learn about the services in freshman introductory courses.
Depending on one’s major, each department at CPP may also offer its own tutoring programs tailored specifically to students in that program.
“I know that we have a lot of tutoring offered here,” said Sebastian Ponce, an engineering student and assistant at the Disability Resource Center. “We do advertise a lot through emails specific for each major.”
Students struggling academically can reach out to the LRC or talk to their advisers for more information about these resources. By reaching out, they can create a plan of action best suited to their needs.
There are both in-person and virtual tutoring and workshops, depending on the time of day, and students can find more information on the LRC and Writing Center websites.
Feature image courtesy Kayla Landers
